Your debut book is one in a long and vibrant tradition of memoirs about family and place. What makes THE YELLOW HOUSE unique?
For most of my life, I felt desperate for an autobiographical story from a native-born New Orleans woman. I ended up writing the book I wanted to read. I have more than fifty nieces and nephews; I hope they will want to read it too. The first part of the book pre-dates my birth. It felt essential that I lay this groundwork, telling the very rich history of the world into which I was born. It felt biblical, in a way, to call the names of the people who made my own experiences possible, to unearth their own ideas and imaginings so that my own family exists as part of a long line, a continuum. That’s the kind of context that often goes missing from American narratives. The book is a work of literary journalism: a mix of reporting and my own lived experience.